Underground fire extinguisher



A ril 29, 1930; J. w. BUTLER UNDERGROUND FIRE EXTINGUISHER Filed Dec. 15, 1928 Patented Apr. 29, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN W. BUTLER, F MCKEESPORT, PENNSYLVANIA UNDERGROUND FIRE EXTINGUISHEB Application filed December 15, 1928. Serial No. 326,195.

a high pressure stream of water, the device may be forced downward through the strata to the fire and then direct the water in an upward direction, extinguishing the fire.

A further object is to provide a mechanism of this character which, as it is being lowered into the earth, will automatically dig its own way by the pressure of the water issuing through the extreme lower end thereof and when it reaches the position desired will automatically out off the water from the drill point as it may be termed and cause the water to be discharged upward and toward the fire.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:-'

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of an underground fire extinguisher constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a like view to Figure 1 but showing the outer casing projected beyond the point;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fi ure 1. v

eferring to these drawings, it will be seen that the extinguisher comprises a tubular barrel 10. This barrel is preferably about four inches in outer diameter and one inch thick. The lower end of the barrel is beveled downward and inward. The upper end of the barrel is reduced in thickness and interiorly screw-threaded. Mounted upon the barrel section 10 by means of screw-threads is a second barrel section 11 whose lower end is reduced and screw-threaded at 12 to engage the 5 screw-threads of the lower barrel. The lower barrel below the screw-threads 12 is formed with a shoulder 13. The upper barrel 11 is screw-threaded for engagement with a string of pipe sections.

Disposed within the lower end of the barrel is provided with a spider or valve 17 with 10 and having sliding engagement therewith is a hollow drill point 14 having a downward-. ly extending perforation 15 through its apex and lateral, downwardly and outwardly extending perforations 15 leading from the hollow interior of the drill point to the exterior thereof. The drill point is mounted upon a connecting rod 16 which extends upward into the barrel. The upper end of the drill point which the lower end of the connectingrod engages and this spider or valve is formed with two oppositely. disposed segmental openings 18. I

Preferably the spider or valve is upwardly rounded'on its upper surface. The connecting rod passes throu h a valve seat 19 coacting with the valve 1 This seat rests upon the shoulder 13. The seat is formed with a central aperture for the passage of the connecting rod 16 and with lateralapertures 20 somewhat segmental in form disposed on a line at right angles to the line of the apertures 18. r The under face of the seat v 19 is upwardly bowed or concaved so as to conform to the upper face of the valve 17.

When the valve 17 strikes the seat 19, the imperforate portion of the valve 19 will close 7 the perforations 20 of the valve seat while the imperforate portion of the valve seat 19' will close the apertures 18 so that assage of water into the point is prevented. When, however, the point is in the position shown in Figure 1 with relation to the valve seat, then water can pass through the apertures 18 and thus be discharged through the perforations 15 in the point.

Attached to the connecting rod 16 above the valve seat 19 is a hollow sleeve valve 21. When the point is in the position shown in Figure 1, this sleeve valve 21 rests upon the valve seat 19. The section*"11 has a plurality of upwardly and outwardly inclined apertures or perforations 22 and when the sleeve 21 is seated on the valve seat 19, the 95 sleeve closes these apertures.

When this device is to be forced into the ground in order to extinguish a fire, the point 14 is projected as shown in Figure 1. The water enters the upper barrel 11 from a hose,

not shown, passes through the sleeve 21, thence through the perforations in the valve seat 19, and enters the drilling point 14 through the a ertures 18. The force the water played against the earth through the small holes 15 in the point washes away the earth so that the pipe by its own weight is forced down through the earth, the force of water keeping the point in the position shown in Figure 1. At this time, the apertures 22 are closed by the sleeve 21. When the extinguisher has passed through the fire to a solid basis and can move downward no lon er, the weight of the string of tubing forces t e sections 11 and 10 downward and this causes the valve seat 19 to bear against the valve 17 and cut off the supply 0 water to the interior of the point. At this time, the sleeve 21 has the position shown in-full lines in Figure 2 and thus uncovers the openings 22 and the water is discharged u ward at an angle of 45 to the center line 0i the barrel. Thus the water is automatically reversed to an upward course in order 25 to keep the barrel from getting hot. Preferably, as before remarked, the sections 10 and 11 are of four inch outside diameter pipe,

one inch thick, so as to give plenty of metal to cut the pipe at the valve seat D and set the valve so that there is plenty of material in which to cut slides for the point 14 to work back and forth on.

This extinguisher is suspended from a portable drilling machine so that its position may be changed to .drill holes throughout a wide area. As it sinks into the ground, additional lengths of pipe are screwed on to the top of the barrel so that its depth range may be relatively large. Of course, I do not wish to be limited to the exact details illustrated as these might be modified in many ways without departing from the spirit of the in vention.

It will be understood that if the ground is particularly hard, then a drilling machine is used to drill a hole down into the fire and then this extinguisher is lowered into this hole with the water turned on so as to permit the ready descent of the extinguisher into the hole. It is to be understood, of course, that while this device has been particularly designed for extinguishing underground fires, it may be capable of other uses as for instance for testing ground in foundations and that I do not wish to be limited, therefore, to the use of this device for extinguishing fires.

I claim 1. An underground fire extinguisher including a barrel having laterally extending perforations and open at its lower end, a

- hollow perforated driving point constitutin the lower end of the barrel and movable vertically therein, the barrel being adapted to be 65 connected to a source of water supply, a

sleeve operatively connected to the point and when the point is projected closing the perforations in the wall of the barrel, and means acting automatically when the point is forced upward within the barrel by contact with a solid stratum to cut off the passage of water through the point and to move said sleeve to uncover the said lateral perforations, thereby permitting the passage of water through the lateral perforations of the barrel.

2. An underground fire extinguisher of the character described, com rising a. pipe having perforations in its si e walls and open at its lower end, a hollow perforated point having a diameter the same as the internal diameter of the pipe and normally disposed in projected position at the lower end of the pipe and shiftable upward into the pipe, the upper end of the point having a plurality of apertures and constituting a valve, a valve seat disposed within the pipe and having apertures, the apertures of the valve seat being out of register with the apertures in the valve whereby when the pipe lowers with relation to the point on the point strikin an obstruction the valve seat and valve wi coact to cut off the flow of water to the interior of the point, a connecting rod mounted upon the point, and a sleeve connected to the connecting rod normally closing the perforations in the body of the pipe and when the pipe is lowered relative to the point, permitting the passage of water through said perforations.

3. An underground fire extinguisher of the character described comprising a pi e having upwardly and outwardly incline perforations in its side walls and open at its lower end, a hollow perforated point having a diameter the same as the internal diameter of the pipe and normally disposed in projected position at the lower end of the pipe and shiftable upward into the pipe, the upper end of the point having a plurality of apertures and constituting a valve, a valve seat disposed within the pipe and having apertures, the apertures of the valve seat being out of register with the apertures in the valve whereby when the pipe lowers with relation to the point on the point striking an obstruction, the valve seat and valve will coact to cut off the flow of water to the interior of the point, a connecting 'rod mounted upon the point, and a sleeve, connected to the connecting rod, normally closing the perforations in the body of the pipe, said sleeve being arranged to uncover said perforations when the pipe is lowered relative to the point, permitting the passage of water through said perforations.

4. An underground fire extinguisher comprising a barrel made in two screw-threaded sections, the lower section adjacent its upper end being formed with a seat and being screw-threaded, the upper section having screw-threaded engagement with the lower section and having the same diameter thereas and above the point of connection being formed with radiating perforations, a pivoted hollow point having its upper end of the same diameter as the internal diameter of the barrel and vertically movable with reference thereto, the upper end of the point being formed with inlet apertures and constituting a valve, an internal shoulder formed at the threaded connection, a valve seat mounted upon said shoulder and having a central aperture and lateral apertures, the lateral apertures being out of ahnement with the apertures in the head of the point, a connecting rod engaging the head of the point and extending up through the central aperture of the valve seat, a tubular sleeve open at its opposite ends and mounted upon said connecting rod and when the point is projected resting upon said valve seat, and closing said radiatin perforations, a downward movement of the arrel with reference to the point causing the sleeve to uncover said perforations and the upper end of the point to close the apertures through the valve seat to thus prevent liquid flowing to the interior of the point.

5. An underground fire extinguisher com-. prising a water conducting barrel, a point slidably en aged with the lower end thereof and norma ly projecting beyond the barrel and having perforations for the discharge of 1 water, the barrel havinig normally closed perforations adjacent its wer end for the discharge of water, and means acting u on a predetermined upward movement 0 the point relative to the barrel preventing the passage of water to the point but causing the unclosing of the perforations in the barrel to permit the water to be discharged therethrough.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

, JOHN W. BUTLER' 

